Bieber wrote the song with producers Andrew Watt and Louis Bell, alongside Jon Bellion and Ali Tamposi.

[1] Its track "Hold On" was written by Bieber, Ali Tamposi, Jon Bellion, and producers Andrew Watt and Louis Bell.

[2] The song interpolates "Somebody That I Used to Know" (2011), written by Walter De Backer and Luiz Bonfá, who thus receive official songwriting credits.

[13] The song's two verses have light synths laid down before eventually transitioning to a punchy chorus where the music drops and the percussion takes over, all layering under Bieber's vocals.

[14] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent stated that the song's synths faintly recall Alphaville's "Forever Young", while its bassline is in the style of Fleetwood Mac.

[15] "Hold On" is about keeping faith during difficult and challenging times, with lyrics touching on Bieber's struggles with the spotlight over the years.

[11][16][17] Rachel Simon, writing for NBC Think, opined that on the track, Bieber "offers himself up as an example of how people can change for the better" and "act[s] as the support system his younger self wasn't lucky enough to have".

A review at The Musical Hype on March 8, 2021, three days after the track's release, rated the song 3.5 stars out of 5, and praised the lyrical content for offering "encouragement and support", as well as praising Bieber's messaging and writing and singing performance, stating that Bieber "sounds smooth and performs expressively".

"[34] Colin Tilley directed the music video for "Hold On", which stars Bieber and Taiwanese-American actress Christine Ko.

[42] Three days later, he released the official Vevo Live performance for "Hold On", which was held in a deserted forest in Los Angeles amid red mood lighting and green and white lightning.